Soccer Game Between Serbia and Albania Abandoned After Drone Buzzes Stadium

A masked person pulls a drone across a soccer field, after a flag depicting a so-called Greater Albania was flown into the stadium in Belgrade.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A European Championship soccer qualifying match between Serbia and Albania came to an abrupt end on Tuesday evening after a drone flying an Albanian nationalist banner buzzed the stadium in Belgrade. Amid the confusion in the Serbian capital, Serbia defender Stefan Mitrovic pulled the flag down, sparking an on-field melee that forced the referee to call off the match after 41 minutes of play. (Watch how the game descended into chaos).

In a bizarre sequence of events, as flares rained down on the Albanian players, two Albanian players snatched the flag away from Mitrovic and began running away. At this point a fan ran out of the stands and attacked them with a chair. The benches cleared, brawls broke out at midfield, and fans pelted the players with objects. The Albanian team ran to the tunnel, soon followed by the Serbian players.

The English referee, Martin Atkinson, kept the teams off the field for nearly 45 minutes before deciding to abandon the match altogether. The incident will be reviewed by the disciplinary committee of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, which can impose fines, ban players, and force the teams to play future qualifiers in empty stadiums.